Share this:

Daniel Akerson is all too aware of the fact that someone people will never forgive General Motors for the government bailout that kept it in business, but the automaker’s chief executive is once again calling on the government for help.

This time, Akerson, who’s scheduled to give a keynote speech at the CERAWeek conference today, said he wants the government to take the lead in encouraging natural gas refueling stations.

“Why can’t we get natural gas refueling stations at one out of four gasoline stations?” Akerson asked the Chronicle’s editorial board in a meeting this morning.

The country needs to leverage the benefit of abundant natural gas unleashed by the hydraulic fracturing boom. GM has developed a new engine that will burn either gasoline or compressed natural gas — all the car needs are separate fuel tanks — but the market for such innovation is limited if the driving public can’t access the fuel.

“If you really want to take advantage of a gift, you have to change your infrastructure,” Akerson said. He stopped short of saying exactly what the government’s role should be, although he seemed to favor some sort of federal mandate on service stations.

Which policy change would provide the biggest boost to the U.S. energy industry?

Your vote is being added to the total. Votes are not reflected in the tallies immediately.

Loading ...

“If we really want to address the structural problems in this country we’re going to have to make some changes,” he said.

And how would he make them?

“We need a presidential commission charged with developing an integrated energy plan,” he said. Presumably, that plan would include some sort of incentive or mandate for natural gas refueling infrastructure.

Of course, Akerson isn’t the first business leader to call for the government’s help in addressing the chicken-and-egg problem of alternative fuels. Just a few weeks ago, Dallas investor T. Boone Pickens, a longtime proponent of natural gas vehicles, was in Houston calling for more encouragement for natural gas vehicles.

Clearly, the government has the power to get the country over the hump on natural gas vehicle demand. The question is whether the public will tolerate more government intervention aimed at helping automakers.

About Fuel Fix

FuelFix.com is your daily must-read source for news and analysis on the energy business. Anchored by business reporters at the Houston Chronicle and other Hearst newspapers, FuelFix incorporates blogs by energy experts, market updates, useful data and a real-time summary of the top ideas, hottest stories and latest news.